Saif Ali Khan's attacker stayed near crime scene for 6 hours

Suspect in Saif Ali Khan attack lingered near crime scene for hours, evaded police, later detained in Chhattisgarh while traveling ticketless.

The man suspected of attacking actor Saif Ali Khan in his Bandra home remained near the crime scene for 6 hours after the incident, and yet he slipped past the police. He even spent a few hours resting before boarding a local train to Dadar, investigations reveal.

A picture of Akash Kanojia, who has been detained on Saturday from Chhattisgarh’s Durg railway station in connection with actor Saif Ali Khan attack case. (RPF Durg) (HT_PRINT)

Police are studying CCTV footage to establish the trail left by the assailant after he left Saif’s home, Satguru Sharan building, via the fire escape, at 2.30 am on Thursday.

Using a screen grab from a camera inside the fire escape, they identified the suspected intruder near National College, on Linking Road, barely 300 metres from Saif’s apartment building, at around 7.00 am. “He walked from the actor’s home and took St Theresa’s Road and then 32nd Road before reaching Linking Road,” a police officer said.

Police suspect the assailant stopped somewhere to change his clothes and get some rest after he attacked the actor. Next, he was seen on CCTV footage at Bandra railway station at 8.24 am, after which he boarded a Churchgate-bound train at 8.36 am.

The suspect alighted at Dadar station at 8.45 am, police said, from where he was captured on CCTV purchasing headphones from a small shop in Dadar West at 9.00 am. “He visited Ikara Mobile Shop and purchased a wired headphone for ₹50,” said the police officer.

“We did not know that he was the one who had attacked actor Saif Ali Khan. We would have caught him and handed him over to the police,” said a salesperson in the shop. “He didn’t look suspicious, nor were his clothes bloodstained,” he added.

Police are still scouring CCTV footage to figure out what the suspect did after he paused at the Dadar shop.

Police say that, prima facie, the motive of the stabbing appears to be theft. They suspect the assailant fled without taking any valuables because of the commotion that resulted from the attack on Saif.

“He went up without any footwear, and while coming down he can be seen wearing shoes. This suggests he is a petty thief who might have studied the area or worked there at some point, before attempting the theft,” said a police officer.

Meanwhile, police have found another piece of the knife that broke off during the attack on Saif in his home, where the stabbing took place. It has been sent to a forensics laboratory to see if it matches the other knife piece which had lodged in the actor’s back during the attack.

In the hope of identifying the assailant, all police stations have been told to check their records of home invasions for a description that matches the accused. The Mumbai police will also be pasting posters of the suspect all over city, hoping someone will come forward with information thatwill help them nab him.

Suspect detained in Chhattisgarh

A man suspected of being Saif’s assailant has been detained by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh. The suspect, identified as Aakash Kailash Kannojia, 31, was travelling aboard the Jnaneshwari Express, which operates between Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Kolkata Shalimar.

“He was heading to Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. We have detained him based on information provided by the Mumbai Police,” said S K Sinha, senior inspector in charge of Durg Junction Railway station. He said the suspect has not been questioned as yet. “He was traveling ticketless in the general compartment,” said Sinha.

Mumbai Police are yet to ascertain whether Kannojia is the suspect they are looking for. “Our teams will reach Raipur by 8 pm and then head for Durg to interrogate him,” said a Mumbai police officer.